This thread has been generated off of the idea by AbsoluteDesignz, found http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=712525&page=9.
It has been brought to my attention, and to many others, that the average Android application, has a lack in design and the ability to present its self as an application of great use, because of it's looks.
The point of this thread is to list and assist those developers in need.
We will start by creating a list of current applications that are useful, but lack in the design area, we will then contact the developer asking if they would like assistance. If so, we assign a graphic designer to the application and they work with the developer to recreate the applications design until the developer is happy.
We will also reach out to new developers looking for assistance, if you are looking for a graphic designer, do not be afraid to ask!
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Graphic Designers:
1. Wisefire - Private Message or [email protected]
2. AbsoluteDesignz - Private Message or [email protected]
Application List:
1.
2.
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If you are a graphic designer and would like to join this movement, please PM me with you contact details.
I would also like users to start posting in this thread with useful applications that they feel need a "make-over."
Thanks to everyone willing to help, and a special thanks to AbsoluteDesignz for inspiring me to start this.
If this is truly a movement as opposed to a service offering might I suggest that you get together with the developers and come up with a standardized API for skinning or allowing user customization as well?
We are hoping to create a base of designers that several app devs can reach out to if they feel their apps are subpar in the design department. Get apps to shy away from the very basic black BG w/ grey buttons or iPhone style interfaces.
We want Android apps to reach their true potential and no longer be bombarded with all of these horrible looking apps or apps that do not match the stock Android experience (good icons that simply do not match, iPhone UI, etc)
Android does allow a lot of room for app varience, but there has to be some consistency when it comes to icon, UI, and UX design. even widget appearance.
I hate seeing screenshots where it looks like a bunch of first graders grabbed any kind of crayon and wrote all over a wall with no rhyme or reason.
Check out these apps to see good design:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.threebanana.notes
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.tvshowfavs
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.evernote
But those are just basic designs...you can get non-standard but still be visually appealing. Android lacks that in some of the most useful apps. that shouldn't be.
MOOGLY
A simple but powerful to do list widget designed to be customized. Now with auto-hiding buttons!
Features:
★ Multiple independent, scrollable widgets
★ Quick, dialog based entry
★ Tick to delete or mark complete
★ Widgets are optimized for Honeycomb
★ Predefined themes or total customization
★ RTL support
★ Custom image backgrounds
This widget was inspired by To Do List from HTC Sense - for some reason, they were the only ones to get it right.
Lite Market link - restricted to 8 entries and only one widget
https://market.android.com/details?id=fahrbot.apps.moogly.lite&feature=search_result
Screens:
Must have
- More better themes
- Notifications and alarms
- Sorting
Could use
- Image background transparency
- Save custom themes
Would be nice
- Button themes
- Fullscreen note character board
Very cool! I love you guys apps
I knew you would mate Spread the word!
Nothing at all? I was hoping for a little feedback...
Sure... app rocks, looking forward to the image backgrounds!
ftgg99 said:
Nothing at all? I was hoping for a little feedback...
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I just downloaded and installed the free version and it looks really nice. However, I do feel that there is room for improvement in the functionality.
1. Scrollable please! I want to use the widget in a 2x4 space, but I have lots of things I want to put on it. Making the widget scrollable will allow me to use a smaller widget size instead of putting it in the 4x4 space I use now (I gave it its own screen). Ill pay for the app if you implement this.
2. Mark as done in one click! As of now, you click once to open a menu that shows your tasks, then you click a second time to mark a task done, then you click a third time to close the menu (EDIT This is totally wrong. Its only 2 clicks, but I think the point stands) Placing a check box or some other kind of button next to each task that marks it as done would streamline this process.
3. Option to display "notes" on the widget. Again, something that would remove "clicks" from the process of seeing notes. Maybe make a global default for displaying notes in all tasks, then be able to edit each tasks individual "note display options" independently of the default. Also, if a task has "hidden notes", maybe place an asterisk at the end to denote that is has hidden notes. As for tasks that display their notes on the widget, the notes should have their own font size, style, and color options, and ideally (for me) should be indented.
These are all just suggestions. I hope some of them get you thinking of ways to improve your app. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
Great ideas... but may be difficult to implement. Lets see what ftgg says.
I say I'll look into it when I've had some sleep...
fafrehugen said:
Great ideas... but may be difficult to implement. Lets see what ftgg says.
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I'm probably the farthest thing you can find from an Android Dev, but I am sure that all of those things are common in other apps. There just isnt one with all of those features that I can find with all of the additional features of this app.
ftgg99 said:
I say I'll look into it when I've had some sleep...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cool.
The amount of r&d I do depends on the number of people that buy the app. Everyone thinks its the other way round, but for a company time is money, so I have to see an app succeed first, before committing additional resources...
So when people just use lite versions, never leave ratings or comments but still demand features many studios lose interest.
ftgg99 said:
The amount of r&d I do depends on the number of people that buy the app. Everyone thinks its the other way round, but for a company time is money, so I have to see an app succeed first, before committing additional resources...
So when people just use lite versions, never leave ratings or comments but still demand features many studios lose interest.
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If this comment is directed towards me, I certainly wasn't demanding anything. I was just trying to help you improve your product.
If you think people will buy your app before it has the features they are looking for, you might want to reconsider. I rated your app a 3 because it doesn't have what I'm looking for. I'm not going to give you a 5, let alone spend money, on something that isn't what I want. I hope that makes some sense.
Just installed the free version. Looks good, and I will buy if I continue to use it.
EXQEX9 said:
If this comment is directed towards me, I certainly wasn't demanding anything. I was just trying to help you improve your product.
If you think people will buy your app before it has the features they are looking for, you might want to reconsider. I rated your app a 3 because it doesn't have what I'm looking for. I'm not going to give you a 5, let alone spend money, on something that isn't what I want. I hope that makes some sense.
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How nice... however, I am a professional developer with over 20 apps. Im pretty sure i know what im doing in this business.
The 3 star rating is just a sign of ignorance, because two of the three features you want implemented are not possible under android at all. In fact, i know of only one other to do list app anywhere near as good as the current early (0.2) release of Moogly. And its still rubbish.
Giving the app a low rating despite it performing exactly as described will only lead to generally lower ratings and less time spent on development. But thats our lot - getting flamed by noobs with $500 phones who shy away from spending $1.48 on something they will use on a daily basis.
Haha, i know exactly how you feel mate - people just dont understand
You are one of the few devs that actually engages with the users, and some are always just ungrateful. I have been trying to do some modifications to it, but as you told me before its not possible!
He gave it 3 star because it didnt have what he wanted, but the app never claimed to have more than what is in the description. The only good reviews are the ones that give 5 stars and say "Works as advertised".
@ftgg99 - Just out of interest which of those suggestions are not possible in Android? Just asking as I'm still getting to grips with what you can and can't do in apps and widgets on Android. Is it possible to mark as done directly in the widget? Also, I have been using GTasks and integrating it into Pure Grid Calendar so all my stuff is in one place, however I fancied a change so am trying out beOrganized at present (but getting really pissed off having realised that the Voice entry function only works when you have wifi/data available - wtf!). Anyway, I'd like to give your app a try so will feed back. Tasks is a big thing for me on my phone and something I use equally as much as my calendar, and having tried most things out there I have to agree that none of them are a perfect solution. So good luck with your app, if I like the lite version I will happily pay your humble price
BTW, would you consider adding in alarm/notification reminder for tasks like in GTasks - find that very handy...
Dunc001 said:
@ftgg99 - Just out of interest which of those suggestions are not possible in Android? Just asking as I'm still getting to grips with what you can and can't do in apps and widgets on Android. Is it possible to mark as done directly in the widget? Also, I have been using GTasks and integrating it into Pure Grid Calendar so all my stuff is in one place, however I fancied a change so am trying out beOrganized at present (but getting really pissed off having realised that the Voice entry function only works when you have wifi/data available - wtf!). Anyway, I'd like to give your app a try so will feed back. Tasks is a big thing for me on my phone and something I use equally as much as my calendar, and having tried most things out there I have to agree that none of them are a perfect solution. So good luck with your app, if I like the lite version I will happily pay your humble price
BTW, would you consider adding in alarm/notification reminder for tasks like in GTasks - find that very handy...
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Regarding the not possible thing - i was pretty red-eye after coding all night and after a second thought i must admit that i was wrong. All of them are possible. Im a noob.
Originally i just made this for myself after finding nothing adequate on the market, and i never use any other features - why bother with notifications for example when the widget is one one of only three screens i stare at all day anyway?
Now of course ill have to take people's suggestions into account so the minimalism i enjoy will have to take a backseat
The alarm, notification thing is on the todo list already. Will be implemented next week for sure.
You see, that's what happens. You make something perfect and everyone wants to change it
If you need a crash dummy just PM me, I don't break easily
ftgg99 said:
How nice... however, I am a professional developer with over 20 apps. Im pretty sure i know what im doing in this business.
The 3 star rating is just a sign of ignorance, because two of the three features you want implemented are not possible under android at all. In fact, i know of only one other to do list app anywhere near as good as the current early (0.2) release of Moogly. And its still rubbish.
Giving the app a low rating despite it performing exactly as described will only lead to generally lower ratings and less time spent on development. But thats our lot - getting flamed by noobs with $500 phones who shy away from spending $1.48 on something they will use on a daily basis.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off I want to say that the only reason I'm still in this thread is because I think there has been some kind of misunderstanding. I'm not one to argue online, but on the other hand, I don't like people thinking I'm flaming them when I'm trying to praise them.
I respect you're time spent as a dev, but I've been a consumer for longer than you've been a dev and I know that I will not buy a product based on future potential. Yes, even if it's $1.48. As a dev, you should know how those small sums can add up to be quite a bit over time.
Your app is the closest thing I have found to date to what I'm looking for in a todo widget. That having been said, I can't use it because it is missing some, of what are to me, key features. That having been said, I can't rate this app perfectly. The rating system, to me, does not reflect how well an app does what it advertises, but how useful/fun the app is overall and compared to other apps.
In my comment (EDIT: the one i made in the market), I did say that the app had serious potential. That's the highest praise I can give at the moment, but I think it's great praise.
I would appreciate you retracting the ignorant/noob comment, as you realized that the features are implementable.
Thank you if you've read this and thought about it objectively. Good luck with the app. I hope it's a success.
Great app, it would be perfect with Google Tasks sync
Hello everyone and thank you for your attention in the meantime!
We already notice that I am using Google Translate to communicate a bit 'better with you ... unfortunately my English is bad ...
With this question I would ask some of your impressions about the development of new ROM for Android.
I unfortunately delivery a bit 'at a disadvantage because I'm not a developer but just a noob playing with phones and test the different solutions that you offer through your releases.
Indeed, from this point of view I can say that I have tried almost all the main ROM and hybrid versions with kernel taken here and there.
But I've always noticed that the experiences of use, graphically speaking (UI), always remain similar, because the part of louncher is never developed, but the aim is to create a very user interface customization through changes color and background or placement of the elements.
For me it is not easy to explain, because I know that the topic is vast and Android is famous for it to be customizable, but my question is this: why do not you propose something really different and complete? A new ROM and can express a different concept of "personalization" ..
I think to some Louncher, type Listener (which I'm using now and I must say I really like it despite some bugs), or Splay (as a concept that I liked very much!), Or other similar but are not always reflected among users .. .
You may think that they are not customizable as it is for example Paranoid ROM that allows you to change many aspects of the UI are different ... but .. I do not know how to explain it .. try to focus on each other and to give news!
So I would suggest to you that you created ROM and the main team: why do not you join to create something new that is stable, fast and creative?
You have very capable graphics, you are the masters of code, so why not go beyond what is android now and try to find the best that each of you has to offer to create something extraordinary?
I'm sure each of you has at least once thought, "how I wish that notifications appear in a different way" (as the team made it through Holo Paranoid ..!).
So .. create something .. UbuntuPhone style but also beyond .. looking for a concept to follow .. for example the samsung has developed its own theme focusing it on the nature .. but then: why not develop a UI based on a tree ? Or on a leaf! Do you understand?
I know it's a giant work but you are the best community of developers for mobile phones and I am sure that if you join forces, you can do a job never seen before ... because you can have a continuous feedback with millions of Android users who can help you in your work on ideas, tips, feedback, etc.!
What do you think?
Thank you for your attention!
I will to try to give to you (how much "to" :silly an idea about my theard:
so I will image the UI like an Infograph or a white pepper. And image in this space something as an virtual ambient thet will be familiar to "costumers" (sorry for the word but I don't know which one to use) and it's can be something of real live, like a desk with paper, pens and so on, that each one of them rappresents a category of apps. For exemple, the calculator rappresents the calculator'app!
So, if you like to change subject you can image a small city as "desktop" of the phone where the apps are graphites on the wall and ther's a person that walks in differents ways for change the differents views!
Or you can image the apps like "animals" that they grow older if the app will not use for a long time! (image the game "poo") and you can have all this animals in different fences divided into different category...
I can go on for years to give some ideas...but the concept is: create a new way of UI!
Something of different that can change the way of we use the phone! A new way that make older the other louncher! A new way that allow the developers to create differents wolrds!.. And integrate each of this ecosystem with utilities like weather (the weather can change in the "desktop" if change in real life...or can change the time with sun and moon! and so on..)!
Or you can think about a something of more easier, like a real infograph where the apps are in a white space and the user can choose the way to connect them and he can move in this space with different effect or with different way (like drag the screen or using some arrows that indicate the ways to move)...
So...something of new! The only problem can be define a commons libraries that allow to create this UI.
I think about HTML 5 and it's ability to be flexible...I know that java is more complicated but maybe can be a way to streamline the code!
Let me know what do you think about and if it can be possible, on your opinion! :highfive:
Hi guys.. first of all i'm new to android dev and this forum. so excuse me for any mistake.. The reason im posting here is i had an idea for an app i always felt need about and couldnt find on play store. I call it irevise.
Its a simple notes making app for students(yes there are many) but with a change. A homescreen widget with additional features to make it easy and convenient to revise/memorise the study material. am studying myself and so had started this project.. have got it into a decent app as of now for my use but there are many additional features to be added, and due to lack of time/expertise/funds i may never complete them all.. so came up with the idea of opensource. Ive released it under Apache license 2.0 on sourceforge. sourceforge.net/projects/irevise/
Invite you all to come and develop together to make this into a cool app
Am providing brief info below for anyone intrested..
Description
Well we all sweat trying to learn those nasty chemical formulae, or the weird biological names or maybe some antonyms and synonyms.Whatever it is anything which can make us learn our books better is just a boon. And when it happens automatically, its just amazing. This little appdoes exactly that. Now quickly make your own small notes for things you feel are difficult to learn.Save in the tiny I revise app,and add the widget. And it makes the notes available on your home screen so they cross your eyes every time you unlock your phone. And they get changed automatically so you get them all... Simple huh? Yes but very effective!! And with so many exciting features lined up it could end up as a really awesum tool.. So why waiting, lets code it !!
Features
Quick Revision Tool For students
Supports android 2.3+
Homescreen Widget (Auto Updating)
Backup/Restore Notes (to be added )
Share Notes (to be added)
Study Circle (to Be added)
Inviting everyone to work on the features mentioned and any extras which may be useful.. Also haven't been able to publish on play store as my old account was suspended by google(dunno why) and i dont have an additional card.. so apk also available there only...
its a nice oppurtunity especially for newbies like me to improve our sills, work as a team and get a useful app built in the process.. the biggies can always practice and show off their skills too
Hello, here is my new app to have brilliant ideas using creativity techniques.
Are included the following techniques: Brainstorming, Six Thinking Hats, Exquisite Corpse, Write text, Random words, Forced relationships, Attributes and improvements, Questions and Answers, Transformation and SCAMPER.
Very useful to point all kinds of ideas, to create new, working on innovation and try to be more creative. You can share files with other devices to another person to write other ideas.
Currently those ten techniques but will be expanded, and with more features, I'll see what acceptance has, but I'll take everything I've learned to develop from scratch
Any suggestions, rates or problems that help to improve the app will be welcomed, thank you very much.
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=es.jolusan.creativitybasic
Live link to the app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=es.jolusan.creativitybasic
I liked the idea, but need to test to say more. This is the basic version of a freemium product.
Technical said:
Live link to the app: ...
I liked the idea, but need to test to say more. This is the basic version of a freemium product.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the interest, this is a free version of Creativity Pro with various limitations